


What?

by Zhie



Series: Bunniverse [3]
Category: The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien, The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Bunniverse, Elfling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-18
Updated: 2017-06-18
Packaged: 2018-11-15 17:07:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11235438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zhie/pseuds/Zhie





	What?

"Eressë? Who are you talking to out there?" asked his mother, calling out from the tent they lived in on the shores of Valinor.

"What?"

The elleth stalled, setting the bowl of batter down onto the table before she exited the tent. It was not uncommon to have visitors from the clan call unexpectedly, but typically Erestor would run into the tent to announce them with great flourish. Erestor's answer bordered on fright of being found out about something, and she intended to find out what her son was up to. "Eressë, tell me with who are you speaking with?"

"You mean to say, 'To whom are you speaking'," said Erestor.

"Do not smart mouth me, Eressë Tatannin. Now, to whom are you speaking?" Tatië asked, looking around and seeing no one. "You are not talking to yourself again, are you?"

"What?"

Shaking her head, Tatië came forward. "What did your father tell you about imaginary friends? If you want any friends at all, you need to stop playing these silly games!" Erestor shifted nervously, his hands instinctively moving to cover his posterior. It did not take much for him to push his mother over the edge, and as she approached and wiped her hands on her apron, he had the sneaking suspicion he had done just that.

A head popped out of the grass at that moment, startling the elleth. "Eressë! What is that?"

"What?"

"That!" Tatië pointed, and the head was lifted up as the entire animal rose up into view, sniffing at the air and twitching its tiny pink nose.

"Oh…yes, her…" Erestor looked up at his mother. "Her name is Cheehushu, and she is…um…"

"If you tell me you were talking to that-" warned his mother.

"But I was!" Erestor exclaimed. "She was telling me that she is having problems with her den, because the deer are trampling the land she lives in, and twice she has had to move her litter, and now, the rains have come and washed out the new den, and she is settled into a tree, but the squirrels do not like her being there, because she eats the eggs of birds, and well, the birds drop the spare seeds to the squirrels, so you can see how having her in the tree is not making the neighbors very happy, because-"

"Enough!" shouted Tatië so that some of their neighbors paused and looked to see what was going on.

"But-" protested Erestor.

"But nothing!" scolded Tatië. "You sound a fool when you say such things - it is lucky you mumbled so quietly that only I can hear you. Now, you take yourself to the tent and wash up for dinner and do not speak any more of this silliness."

"What?"

"You heard me! Do not test me further," was the warning.

Erestor took a deep breath, on the verge of tears. He spoke up a little, so that he could not be accused of mumbled. "I have not found a solution to her problem yet, and she has five children to look out for," he said, pointing to the creature next to him.

"Then she will understand that I need to take care of my child. To the tent." It was not a request, and Erestor hung his head as he trudged to the dwelling.   
He gave one last look back over his shoulder at his friend.

"Do not worry," she chirped to him, "I will come look for you tonight when your parents are asleep."

Erestor smiled and nodded back with a chirp of his own. He looked back to see he was receiving a rolling of the eyes from his mother. "I am just saying farewell," he mumbled.

"Oh, Eressë," Tatië said, shaking her head as they entered the tent. "Only Eru and the Valar can talk to animals."

"But I can talk to them, too!" he argued. He was glared at, and slunk back. "It is true."

"No more, now. No more of that nonsense. Go and wash up," she directed, pointing him outside.

Erestor snorted and stamped out, walking to the communal well. "I can too talk to them," he said, but only after he was out of his mother's range of hearing, and even then, very quietly.

Nearby, behind the cover of the trees, a cloaked figure watched from his horse. He nodded upon hearing Erestor's comment, and rode away with a smile on his fair face.


End file.
